Fly Agaric Mushrooms (Amanita Muscaria)

Caution!
Today, my favourite Mushroom field had been plundered by someone else, before I got there; so I came home with very little for my tea.

I did spot these on the way though, but I'm not going to have these with my tea, not in less I fancied having tea with the fairies.

Fly Agaric Mushrooms are both Hallucinogenic and Deadly Poisonous!  You have to remove the skin and the gills and grill them.  The vikings used to filter them through rain deer, to ensure their safety.

They are quite common on Dartmoor doing well under both Confers and Deciduous trees.  The most I have ever seen was two interlocking 3 meter diameter fairy rings, about 25 years ago, in a deciduous forest, on the edge of the Teign gorge, these few are humble by comparison

Moor wild life

 Breathing in a Horse's nose

Did you know that if you breath through your nose, into the nose of a Horse or Cow; that creature will always remember you? 

I suppose it's like their version of Face book.

Many years ago, there was a lady on the telly called Barbra Woodhouse, she was a very Stern, don't mess with me, kind of animal training person, who,I think used to terrify the animals owners, more than she did the animals, but both would try their hardest to do exactly what she said.  Anyway; I learnt this skill from her most enjoyable program. It defiantly works too, I mean; look for your self.

No, try it for you self.

Swamp Plants and things I have planted

Tormentil Potentilla Erecta

Many years ago, I think year 2 and year 4 mostly, I planted the odd thing out here on this part of the moor.  The success rate was very low as so many tree munching creatures, like my friend the Horse, wonder about unsupervised, so I had concentrated my planting efforts on lands around the edges of the moor, with no or limited animal access, where I have enjoyed a far higher rate of success.  With the theory being; those plants are then up here and they will hopefully then spread onto the moor gradually over time themselves.

Very few wild flowers grow on the moor, which is why the villages which are surrounded by the moor; are so short of biodiversity.  But Tormentil, above right; is very common.  It is a relative of a common garden shrub, also of Cinquefoil.

Now, I have come here today to look for some of the things I have planted here and I have spotted one of my year 2 Willows, but between me and it is deadly peat bog, which I must very carefully cross, because it is basically like quick sand and can suck you under in minutes.

You can tell where the very dangerous bits are, by the plant life.  One of the most obvious signs is Sphagnum Moss, sown here, in the picture below.  Step on this and you might sink rapidly, although if it's dry it's safe to walk on.

 

 Crossing a Peat Bog

Another Moss, which is very common on the Moor and is generally safer to walk on and found more around the edges of bogs is Club moss, shown here, below, to the right.

I say 'safer' not 100-percent safe, so do be careful.

Reeds are another very common bog plant, they grow in thick clumps, so if you step on the actual clumps of reeds, as shown on the other picture below; you should be OK, but often; the whole land quivers, as it did today.  That is quite scary and of-putting, but it works, just take your time, wear sensible shoes and don't panic.

Step on the clumps of reeds, so you don't sink.

Club Moss Lygopodium Clavatum

 Willows from year 2

Made it at last.

Now, these  Willow trees were taken mostly from cuttings.  It is too boggy here for the animals to venture, so a few have survived, but are much smaller than the ones I have planted on ungrazed areas.

 Here there are about 15 Willows in this immediate vicinity, a tiny percentage of what I planted in here, but thriving never the less.

As you can probably tell; they are quite nibbled, but alive and strong:

 

Another plant which grows quite well in bogs on the Moor is Wild Iris Iris Pseudacours, shown here, bellow, but not currently in flower.  This particular clump, along with a few others was here, prior to my arrival, but I have planted many others, on and off the Moor, with much success, mainly on year 4.

Another plant, which seems to be doing well here is Broom.  It grows on the Moor further down stream, so I have moved a few bits of it up here.  It grows well, but doesn't seem to have seeded it's self yet, which is quite frustrating, as it is generally a quite short lived shrub.  Broom like to grow around the edge of bogs and close to water courses, unlike it's tougher cousin Gorse, which seems to grow anywhere.  But Gorse; I have observed, only seems to grow around the edges of the moor, in a ring, just above the current tree-line.

Broom Sarothamnus Scoparius

Yarrow Achillea Millefolium

Finally; this is some kind of Hawk weed, but there are so many, I'm not sure which actual one this is or how it got here, but there is just the one isolated clump of it, growing right outside the fire station.